If that's what it takes

57

Derek let Zoey finish her dinner, her little mouth devouring each and every morsel on her plate until she lifted it from the table and glanced to Derek. "Can I lick it?" She asked, her eyebrows raised as Derek shook his head.

"You shouldn't lick it..." He said as she stuck her tongue out and challenged him. "You really... shouldn't lick it..." He said as she sighed, putting the plate down on the table she gave him a sweet smile and moved her hands from the plate. He tilted his head and laughed. "What the heck... lick it..." He said as she lifted the plate up and giggled.

"I was kidding!" She said as she laughed at Derek as she put the plate down on the table.

"You fooled me!" He exclaimed as she giggled and stood up from her chair, putting her fork on her plate as she walked toward the sink.

"I did... I did fool you..." She said as she reached up and slipped the plate into the sink, listening to it fall to the bottom roughly as Derek walked up behind her and put his own plate in the sink.

"So I take it you liked dinner?"

"Loved dinner!" She exclaimed, rubbing her belly with her hand as she skipped across the kitchen and picked up her cup off the table and brought it to Derek. "Can I help... wash the dishes, DD?"

"You want to help?"

"Yes." She smiled. "We learned about helping in school. I used to help mommy with dishes... she would wash them and I would dry them..." She said as she held up the cup to Derek. He took it from her hand and placed it in the sink.

"Well... in the spirit of helping, I think we can arrange something..." Derek said as he walked toward the table and grabbed one of the chairs. He pulled it toward the sink and placed it beside the sink. He reached to the cupboard and pulled a dishcloth from within it, and shook it out as he lifted her onto the chair. "Here..." He said as he turned toward the sink next to her. "Now you're nearly as tall as me..."

"I have to be tall to dry the dishes?" She giggled.

"Yes." Derek nodded as he began to was a dish in the sink, being sure to rinse it thoroughly. He handed it to her carefully, watching as she rubbed the cloth over it haphazardly, smiling at Derek as she did it. "Be careful not to drop it..." He said as he watched her nod.

"I don't want to break another plate..." She said with a serious sigh, shaking her head.

"That's right... because then we'll be eating off of napkins... and I'm not quite sure how well that'd work with soup..." He said seriously as he watched her dry the plate, she looked up at him and giggled.

"You can't put soup on a napkin!" She laughed.

"See... now you get it..." Derek laughed as he washed another plate and handed it to her. "Here... stay right here, I'll be right back... I have to grab my cell phone from upstairs... dry that plate..." He said as he headed out the door.

"And don't drop it..." She nodded.

"And don't drop it!" Derek called as he disappeared into the hallway.

Just as he disappeared, the house phone rang and without thinking, Zoey grabbed it from the wall receiver. "Hello." She said into the phone as she glanced to the door.

"Hello?" A woman's voice came over the line. She sounded confused and paused.

"Hello?" Zoey said again, unsure of what to say.

"Hello?" The woman repeated as she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry... I must have the wrong number..." She said softly as she hung the phone up.

"Bye..." Zoey said as she put the phone back on the receiver.

Just as she did, Derek walked back into the room. "Did the phone ring?"

"Uh huh..." She nodded.

"And you answered it?"

"Uh huh..."

"Did they say who it was?"

"Nope."

"Hmm..."

He sighed as the phone rang again. Zoey grabbed it and lifted it to her ear before Derek could get to it. "Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Hello?" The woman said again.

Derek reached her and grabbed the phone from the little girl as he kissed her cheek and chuckled. "Hello?" He said softly into the line.

"Derek?"

"Mom?" Derek swallowed, as he immediately recognized his step mother's voice. He swallowed hard and waited for the inevitable question.